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Sommelier's advice
AN EVEN BETTER EXPERIENCE
Enjoy yourself and discover the art of tasting so you can truly appreciate the qualities of our distinct beers.
DRINKING A BEER IS A QUESTION OF GOOD SENSE
Is this your first tasting experience? To appreciate all the subtleties that our beers offer, first awaken your five senses. Each of them highlights particularities that allow you to better recognize the uniqueness of each product.
Your ears bring out the pleasure in you, with the "POP" of a cork or the "PSCHITTT" of a bottle cap. The sight makes you salivate (color, effervescence, foam). The nose detects the scents and highlights the aromatic characteristics of the beer. The touch, in the mouth, makes you appreciate the temperature of your beer, its effervescence, its texture and its sensation (or not) of alcohol heat. The taste buds identify the four basic flavors: sweet, salty, sour and bitter. And it is only after swallowing that you will identify all the other flavors!
SERVING TEMPERATURE
Not all beers are drank cold! Temperature influences your sensory perception and affects your experience depending on the style of beer you drink.
Cold
Limits the aromas perceived by the nose, increases visible effervescence as well as the tingling sensation and, consequently, the taste of CO2. Accentuates the bitter taste and the feeling of hoppy dryness and makes beer easier to drink.
Warm
Stimulates aroma, intensifies the sweet taste of all malts (making a heavier experience), highlights malty notes (fresh bread, hazelnut, caramel, toast, chocolate, coffee, etc.), allows for a generous head with a pleasing visual appearance and slows the oxidation that degrades the taste.
14°–16°
Barley Wine, Imperial Stout, Quadruple, Double IPA, Doppelbock
10°–14°
Bitter, Saison, English Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, Baltic Porter, Strong Belgian, Bocks, Scotch Ale
8°–12°
Helles, Viennese, Belgian Double and Tripel, Amber Ale, American Pale Ale, Stout, Porter, Gueuze, Lambic
4°–7°
Blonde Lager, Pilsner, Kölsch, Belgian White, Weizen, Fruity Lambic
0°– 4°
"Light" Commercial Lager
AN APPROPRIATE GLASS FOR OPTIMAL TASTING
Flute
Elegant with long lines and narrow curves promoting carbonation control: the bubbles do not escape too quickly. Lighter beers love this narrow glass that allows light to pass through the liquid more easily.
StyleFruit beers, Belgian-style white, lambic, American, German and Czech pilsners, dry IPA
Buy this type of glassSnifter
Its large base and bottom allow a good grip with the palm to heat the liquid as needed. Curving in on itself, this glass concentrates the aromas and gradually releases the olfactory scents.
StyleBock, barley wines, Scotch ale, double Belgian, strong Belgians, quadruple, imperial stout
Buy this type of glassTulip
Originally from Belgium, its shape is good for highly sparkling beers, and it promotes the formation and duration of foam. Its closed neck is ideal for retaining aromatic properties. The foot allows the glass to be held without touching the vessel, preventing the liquid from heating up.
StyleBelgian ale, saison and farmhouse, tripel, double and triple IPA
Buy this type of glassGoblet
Emblematic of the brewing of Belgian monks. Its sectional shape is its main advantage. It creates a beautiful foam given its flared shape. Its wide foot and base allow a good grip with the palm to heat the liquid as needed.
StyleStrong Belgian ale, double, tripel, quadruple, bock, imperial IPA, imperial stout
Buy this type of glassIPA
A German style of glass created in 2013. It has become THE absolute glass for IPAs. Its unique shape is ideal for tasting, helps maintain the temperature of the beer, facilitates the release of aromas and retains yeast (if any) at the bottom of the glass.
StyleIPA and all its variations
Buy this type of glassTeku
Designed in Italy in 2006 with the objective of creating the universal glass for any style of beer. It allows the formation of significant head and thus promotes the maintenance of aromas. Exceptional stemmed glass with simple handling.
StyleAll premium beers, IPA, imperial stout and porter
Buy this type of glass
A serving ritual for divine beers
Step 1
Before opening a Unibroue ale, gently turn the bottle upside down and then gently spin it around a few times.
Step 2
Open the bottle.
Step 3
Rinse your glass with water and hold it at a maximum angle of 45 ̊. Slowly pour the beer along the side of the glass until it's half full.
Step 4
Straighten the glass while continuing to pour the beer into it. From there, be sure to pour the beer in the centre of the glass to form a generous head of foam.
THE ART OF TASTING
It's tasting time – when you put all your senses in action. Here's a simple and effective method that allows you to fully appreciate the moment.
Hold your glass by its base. Analyze the following characteristics: colour; the clarity of the liquid (translucent, hazy, cloudy, opaque); bubbles (quantity, size, consistency); the head (thickness, density, durability).
First, smell while paying attention to the dominant scent. Repeat twice while swirling the liquid around the glass while trying to identify the secondary scents. Don't be shy – there are no wrong answers.
Take a small sip and keep it in your mouth. Use your taste buds to try to identify the presence or absence of the basic flavours: sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Swallow and focus on the same flavours. The dominant one is in the aftertaste. And it's not always bitterness!
Take a sip, keep it in your mouth for several seconds, then swallow while exhaling. This is where the aromas appear as well as all the other flavours (a fruit, a herb, an essence, any other substance, etc.).
Keep in mind the ultimate goal of drinking a beer: PLEASURE. Tasting is simply a different way to attain it and not a goal in and of itself. If it's too complicated, to heck with the theory and just drink!
Cheers!
Buy the beer glass